


I Put A Spell On You

by BlueMoonChild3



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, One Shot, Spells & Enchantments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:20:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22700869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueMoonChild3/pseuds/BlueMoonChild3
Summary: Ron Weasley wants to prove to Hermione Granger that they are soulmates...what harm could a little spell do on Valentine's Day?I Put A Spell On You - Annie Lennox versionAll rights to characters belong to J.K. Rowling, only playing in her world for a bit
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Severus Snape
Comments: 40
Kudos: 219





	I Put A Spell On You

"Come on Hermione, you know we'd be great together, just give us a chance," pleaded Ron for the umpteenth time that day.

"For the last time, Ronald, no! We have nothing in common, except Harry," said Hermione as she suppressed the need to roll her eyes at her friend. Honestly, how could he not realize that they would be a disaster as a couple? "Besides, I thought you and Lavender were dating."

"Not anymore, I dumped her yesterday," Ron said casually, "She was okay for a bit of fun but, now I'm ready to start a proper relationship with you."

Hermione was stunned. She knew he was immature but, this was a whole new low. "You broke up with your girlfriend just before Valentine's Day!?" she gasped loudly, causing a few startled shoppers in Tomes and Scrolls to stop and take notice of the pair, "How could you do such a callous thing?" True, Hermione never really warmed to the blonde witch but, she certainly didn't deserve to be treated so shabbily.

"Goodbye, Ronald," she huffed, striding away from the clueless boy as fast as she could manage, "And, don't bother coming over to dinner at Grimmauld Place on Saturday to see me and Harry, not until you've pulled your head out of your arse and properly apologized to Lavender."

Ronald watched in disbelief as Hermione stormed back along the path leading to Hogwarts, muttering under her breath about 'dunderheaded boys with the emotional depth of a thimble'.

How dare she! He did everything he was supposed to do....sowed some wild oats with other girls 'for practice' before settling down with the witch he had planned to make his wife and gotten a respectable job as an Auror (well, he was still in training but, he was sure to pass the final tests next week). And, yet, Hermione still turned him down. It just wasn't right. They were meant to be, just like Harry and Ginny.

It was time to put his backup plan into action.

_______________________________________________ 

When Hermione arrived back at the Great Hall, she had worked off most of her anger at Ronald's crude actions...well, almost. She was still muttering to herself about his insensitivity when she ran into a solid black, wool-covered wall in the form of Headmaster Snape, causing him to stumble forward into Professor Flitwick who was levitating decorations into place for the Valentine's Day dance.

"I...I am so sorry, did I...did I hurt you, sirs?" she stuttered, her cheeks pinking. She was so embarrassed, she couldn't look either man in the eyes, choosing instead to check out an interesting spot on the floor near her boots.

"No need to apologize, no harm done," Flitwick replied after Snape help set him, and the holiday baubles, to rights. 

Snape, however, sneered at the young witch, "I beg to differ, Filius. What was so important that you couldn't be bothered to watch where you walked, Apprentice Granger?"

'Oh, bollocks! Just my luck to get the uncaffeinated Headmaster this morning,' Hermione groaned to herself. 'Well, I've already passed my quota of snark for the week.'

Squaring her shoulders, she looked up, and snidely replied, "Just planning on how best to neuter a particularly nasty ginger twit and get away with it, Headmaster."

Only years of practice helped Snape keep his amusement off his face, "Finally had enough of your boyfriend's wandering eye?" he asked, not that he really cared what the Weasley brat did, mind you, so long as it didn't involve any of his current students.

'Merlin! Did everyone know about Ronald's boorish habits?' Well, bugger that! Keeping her friend's crass behavior under control was not her responsibility!

"Not that my personal life was ever any of your concern, sir," she informed him coolly,"but, Ronald Weasley never was, nor will ever be, my boyfriend. Good day to you." Hermione then turned on her heel and, with a billow of her robes that was oddly familiar, she headed to her Transfiguration Master's office for her Animagus lessons.

A chuckle from the Charms professor snapped the Headmaster out of his surprise at his former student's pronouncement and dramatic exit. "Careful there, Severus, you may have just met your match."

_____________________________________ 

Ron was rubbing his hands together like some cheesy Muggle movie villain as he read through some of the spells in the grimoire he and Harry had found at Grimmauld Place last year. They'd finally gotten around to clearing out some things from Sirius' old room and they'd spotted the well-worn leather tome underneath a stash of Muggle motorcycle magazines in a hidden crawl space.

He was just going to throw it into a box of other books to be shelved in the Black library when he dropped the heavy volume and it fell open to a dog-eared page on soulmates. One of the spells had a handwritten note next to it that caught both their attentions, 'For James and Lily'. 

The marked passage contained details on how to find one's soulmate during Valentine's Day. When the Anima Mea Conpar* was completed, a witch or wizard would immediately be drawn to the person (or persons) that was meant to be their life partner....that's IF they were in the same room or building. But, should the perfect match be elsewhere in the world, then a scroll would appear with their name and location and present a copy to both people. The rest was up to them to make contact and travel arrangements.

Of course, Harry had wanted to try it right away and, it worked. He and Ginny were engaged the day after Valentine's last year and were now planning for their wedding during the summer solstice this year.

Now, all Ron had to do was arrive at the Valentine's Day celebration at Hogwarts this evening (under Harry's invisibility cloak, of course), cast the spell on the punch bowl and wait for Hermione to take a drink. He already knew she would be in attendance as a chaperone, it was part of her duties as McGonagall's apprentice.

It was the perfect solution.

______________________________________________________ 

"Could you not scowl so much, Severus, this is supposed to be a happy occasion," tsk'd McGonagall, "You've already scared a fair few of the fifth years out of their wits."

"Good," Snape huffed, "That means there'll be fewer students to roust from the rose gardens or the astronomy tower later on when I'm on patrol."

"And here I thought you'd love any opportunity to take house points, especially, if Ravenclaw students are involved," smirked the Deputy Headmistress, "I know how close the standings for the House Cup are this year between them and Slytherin."

"You're mistaking me for my twinkly-eyed predecessor, again, Min," glared Severus, but there was no heat behind the look, "I don't remove or award points arbitrarily to suit my purposes like he did." He was still sore at the old goat for snatching the Cup away from his House that first year Potter and his gang attended school. It had crushed the spirit in a lot of his younger snakes, although, it did his godson, Draco, some good to learn that his father's money couldn't buy him everything.

"Now, if you will excuse me, I have to help Filius ward the refreshments table," he said, "The Weasley twins have come up with a new line of concoctions just for the occasion and I don't want to explain to a lot of angry parents how their 'little darlings' wound up with alcohol poisoning or accidently pregnant because the punch or food was spiked."

"I thought they fixed that problem with charms to prevent students from purchasing and using certain products," she stated, clearly not happy with this bit of news.

"For the most part, their spellwork does just that," said Snape, pinching the bridge of his nose to stave off the impending headache, "However, it doesn't keep recently graduated persons from buying items and passing them on to younger siblings. And, if they douse the refreshments with the potions, technically, they won't be imbibing for personal use."

"Merlin! Well, it's a good thing we have you and Filius on hand to counter the loopholes," sighed McGonagall, "At least now I appreciate why you've been glowering all day."

"Welcome to the Dark Side, Min," smirked Snape.

There was a brief pause, then McGonagall started cackling. Snape's humor made more sense to her now that she'd started participating in her apprentice's Friday night tradition of Muggle movies and games night.

____________________________________________ 

Ronald was beyond smug with himself. His plan to sneak into Hogwarts worked like a charm and the Anima Mea Conpar was now firmly in place over everything on the refreshment table. Once he had gotten into the Great Hall, he realized that he needed to expand on his original idea. There were four drinks fountains and a variety of nibbles and he wanted to make sure that, no matter what Hermione picked, she would be caught by the soulmate spell.

All he thought about now was watching Hermione, waiting for that magic moment when she realized that she was destined to be his witch.

It never crossed Ron's mind that the enchantment might affect other people in the room.

________________________________________________________________________________ 

"Here, Severus, you look like you could use a drink," said McGonagall as she handed him one of the two cups of punch she carried in her hands.

"Thank you, Min," he murmured before swallowing a mouthful of the chilled ginger water, "I didn't realize how...."

"You didn't realize what, Severus?" Minerva asked, looking in the direction of his gaze. When he didn't respond right away, she turned back and saw that what color he had was completely drained from his face. Concerned, she placed a hand on his arm. "What is it Severus? What's wrong?"

He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, looking very much like a landed fish. On the third try, he finally whispered, "It's...I have to find her." And, he hurriedly stalked across the Great Hall towards the staff exit, ignoring McGonagall's voice as he left.

"Severus? Who do you have to find? Severus!" McGonagall called as she tried to catch up with Snape but, she didn't get too far as a group of students moved onto the floor for the first dance of the evening. By the time she made it through the crowd, the Headmaster was no where to be seen.

______________________________________________ 

Hermione was up on the Astronomy Tower taking a moment to look at the stars in the clear, moonless sky. Having just completed her patrols for the evening, she reached into her robe pocket and took out the two chocolate biscuits she had taken from the refreshments table on her way out. As she nibbled on the second one, she sighed aloud, "It's such a lovely night. Too bad I don't have anyone to share it with."

"Are you sure about that, Hermione?" said a familiar, and unwelcome, voice.

Whirling about with her wand drawn, she snarled as she conjured up some bright mage lights, "Ron! What are you doing here? How did you...?" Rolling her eyes, she huffed, "Really, Ron? Harry's cloak. Does he know you took it? More importantly, why are you here? And, don't lie. I saw Lavender about twenty minutes ago escorting a 5th year to the infirmary. I know she hasn't heard from you today."

"Forget about her, let's talk about our future together," he said trying, and failing, to sound elegant and seductive.

"There is no 'us', Ronald. I thought I made myself perfectly clear this morning," sneered Hermione, not taking her eyes off the offending ginger-haired git.

"Come on, Hermione. You've got to be feeling different about me by now, yeah?" Ron smirked, pointing to the half-eaten chocolate biscuit in her hand.

Tossing the rest of the sweet treat onto the ground, Hermione snapped, "Ronald Bilius Weasley...what did you do?"

"Yes, Mr. Weasley, I would like to hear the answer to that myself," growled the Headmaster as he emerged from the shadows with his wand pointed at the younger wizard's head. Not taking his eyes off the trespasser, he asked, "Are you alright, Apprentice Granger?"

Ron let out an undignified squawk at the intrusion, his face flushing an unflattering red, "This is a private matter between me and my soulmate, Snape," he hissed, "Now, bugger off and go terrorize somebody else, you Greasy Bat!"

Hermione just stared, not at Ronald, but the Headmaster. His concern dipped in that sinfully rich baritone was causing her brain to malfunction, making her mouth go dry and sending a delicious shiver up her spine. Since coming back to Hogwarts to begin her apprenticeship, she found she enjoyed the sound of his rumbling voice during staff meetings but, now...now it had her heart stuttering wildly in her chest and her mind racing with all sorts of inappropriate thoughts.

Fighting to regain a little bit of her composure, she turned on her estranged friend, "What do you mean, soulmate? You and I are nothing of the sort, Ronald! Now, answer me. What.Did.You.Do. to the chocolate biscuits?"

"I think you'll find, it was more than just the biscuits that he tampered with as I only had ginger water and I'm experiencing some....unusual effects," said Snape, "I know it wasn't a potion as Professor Flitwick and I both warded all the refreshments against them." He thought for a moment and his eyes narrowed at the red-head, "Some sort of spell, perhaps? Although, it surprises me that you, of all people, could have come up with it on your own. You were never that good at charms or spellcrafting. Tell me. Who helped you with this...prank...the twins? No, they're work tends to be, relatively, benign. Have you, possibly, made some less than savory acquaintances during your Auror training?" 

Ronald sneered at the Headmaster, he had what he wanted, it didn't matter if the Dungeon Bat knew what he'd done. "It was a spell but, there's nothing you can do about it. There's no counter to it." Glancing at Hermione, he added, "It works, too. Harry and Ginny cast it on themselves and it showed them that they are each others soulmate....just like his parents were.....and just like you and I are, Hermione."

It was a good thing the shadows hid Snape's face as it completely drained of color, again. "You used the Anima Mea Conpar over the whole refreshment table!?" he roared. Not waiting for anything past a smug 'Yeah' from Weasley, the Headmaster Stupefied the ginger menace, relieved him of his wand and bound him with an Incarcerous before levitating him down the Tower steps and back towards the Great Hall.

Oh, yes. He remembered that thrice-damned spell. Sirius Black had found it in a book on ancient magicks in his family's library and had brought it with him to Hogwarts after the Winter Holidays in their 6th year. And, Lily and James had performed the spell before the Valentine's Day dance a few short weeks later.

He's hated the holiday ever since.

__________________________________________________________________ 

Hermione had to almost jog to keep up with the rapidly retreating form of the Headmaster and his human party balloon. "Headmaster? Is there anything I can do to help? Maybe research the spell more?"

Snape paused for just a moment to let Granger catch up, "There's nothing you can do, Apprentice Granger. I know this particular spell and...Weasley's correct. There's no counter....The damage to everyone at the dance has already been done."

For a moment, Hermione's heart sank to her stomach. 'Does he really think of a soulmate as 'damage' or did he mean...?' Her eyes widened with belated comprehension."Oh, Merlin! All those students! And...and the other Professors, too!...Will they...are they..? Oh, my.." Hermione spluttered, her body flushing pink from the roots of her hair down to her toes.

"Oh, indeed," smirked Snape, as he admired the lovely color blossoming across the young witch's face, "Brace yourself as best you can, Apprentice Granger. We may be walking in on a number of soulmates...consummating their bond." ('Bollocks! Why did I mention that? Now, I've got those images running around in my head.')

"I better go to the infirmary then, sir," Hermione stated, trying to steady her breathing, "With all that...well, THAT...going on everyone's going to need contraceptives right away."

"A sensible precaution," drawled the Headmaster, "Take one for yourself, too....just in case. You never know when the effects of those chocolate biscuits you ate are going to kick in."

She muttered something that Snape didn't quite catch. "What was that, Her--Miss--Apprentice Granger?" He really needed her to get out of his immediate sight, he was hanging on to his self-control by his fingernails at this point.

"I said, my symptoms have already started, sir," she murmured, not making eye contact with him. (Don't look up. Don't look up! If you do, you'll start climbing him like a tree.)

"Then, you'd best hurry," he said through clenched teeth.

________________________________________________________ 

Fortunately, it wasn't as bad as the Headmaster had envisioned....not that he normally went around picturing his staff or students doing those sorts of things...ahem, yes...anyway, the creator of Anima Mea Conpar designed the spell so that both soulmates had to be of legal age before consummation could take place. Of the nearly 200 people who were there that night, only 20 were affected by the spell-laced refreshments. Since most of them were underage, this meant that they engaged in nothing more than heated kisses and heavy petting....the loss of house points was worth it! An unexpected effect was, once a soulmate was identified, a pending marriage contract was created within the Ministry Registrations archives, shifting to completed the day the age requirement was met. To be sure, there were likely to be a handful of angry letters sent to the Deputy Headmistress and Headmaster the following week but, most Pureblood and wizarding-raised Half-Bloods accepted these bindings...finding ones' soulmate was a rare and wondrous gift, after all, and not to be trifled with.

There were two notable matches that night. The first was Apprentice Healer Lavender Brown. After she had escorted the 5th year student to the hospital wing for a vial of Stomach Soother, she had returned to the festivities...and the food. She retired to her chambers early that night a very happy witch, her broken heart caused by the Weasel the day before readily forgotten by the fact that she now had not one but, two soulmates - Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas. Two very talented, loving....and well-endowed partners....their twins are due around the 20th of November.

The second was Headmaster Severus Snape and Apprentice Hermione Granger, much to the horror of the revived Ronald Weasley. Still under the magical restraints (and Silencio'd by an extremely angry McGonagall) he had to watch and quietly fume as his former friend, and planned upon wife, tangoed the night away with the smug Dungeon Bat. 

Well, at least until his other former best friend arrived to arrest him.

He screamed aloud in his Ministry cell two days later with the arrival of The Daily Prophet and its headline:

War Heroes Find Love at Last - The Whirlwind Romance and Marriage of Headmaster Severus Snape and Transfiguration Apprentice Hermione Granger

"It's all thanks to my old friend, Ronald Weasley....."

**Author's Note:**

> anima mea - soul 
> 
> conpar - perfect match, mate


End file.
